NWSL Mid Week Round Up: Reeves Stuns Thorns with Hat Trick

The Chicago Red Stars continue to stun opponents in their climb in league standings, adding more points to their repertoire with a 2-0 shutout against Sky Blue FC Wednesday on Piscataway, NJ.

Chicago’s Leon got a goal and an assist to help lead her team to a 2-0 victory.(ISI Photos/Howard C.Smith)

This marked the Red Stars fourth away game in a row, but you wouldn’t think so, as they busted out in the first half dominating from the start, scored both goals in the first half, and held their lead throughout the remainder. This is their fifth win in a row and sixth undefeated as they chase No. 1 ranked Seattle Reign, just four points behind in second place.

The first goal was scored by midfielder Adriana Leon in the 27th minute. Jen Hoy initiated the play, charging through Sky Blue defense into the box and passing off to Leon when the opposition overwhelmed her. Leon drilled a close range shot from the right side to put them up 1-0.

Then, in the 35th minute, another chance was created when defender Kecia Morway volleyed a cross in to Leon, who passed off to team captain Lori Chalupny. She promptly one timed her shot into the net to set the score 2-0.

“It’s not easy to get points on the road in this league,” Red Stars Head Coach Rory Dames told NWSL. “The players have done well and we’ll continue to train hard, clean up some details, and work on getting better.”

Scoring Summary

27 Chicago Adriana Leon

35 Chicago Lori Chalupny (Leon)

Rookie Jazmine Reeves Leads Boston to Huge Victory

Boston Breakers surprised Portland and delighted fans on Wednesday with a crucial 4-1 win at Harvard Stadium in Allston, Mass.

Jazmine Reeves (L) was outstanding in only her second start for Boston. (ISI Photos/Andrew Katsampes)

The Breakers began their take over in the 2nd minute of regulation when forward Nkem Ezurike capitalized on a right side cross from rookie Jazmine Reeves. Then, in the 25th minute Thorns goalkeeper Nadine Angerer dove to stop a dangerous shot from forward Courtney Jones, but Reeves was on fire, collecting the rebound and blasting the ball into the net to up the Breakers lead 2-0.

It became apparent that Reeves was on a mission, scoring a brace in the first minute of the second half with Jones on the assist. Although Portland outshot Boston 11-7 and notched a 62nd minute goal from Christine Sinclair in the half, they wouldn’t be able to touch Boston’s ever-growing lead, which Reeves extended to 4-1 in the 59th minute for a hat trick and cemented the Breakers victory over the Thorns.

Scoring Summary

2 Boston Nkem Ezurike (Reeves)

25 Boston Jazmine Reeves

45 Boston Jazmine Reeves (Jones)

59 Boston Jazmine Reeves (Evans)

62 Christine Sinclair (Long)

LEAGUE STANDINGS

#

NWSL

GP

W

L

T

PTS

1.

Seattle Reign FC

9

7

0

2

23

2.

Chicago Red Stars

9

6

2

1

19

3.

FC Kansas City

11

4

4

3

15

4.

Portland Thorns FC

9

4

3

2

14

5.

Washington Spirit

9

4

4

1

13

6.

Western New York Flash

8

3

3

2

11

7.

Sky Blue FC

10

2

4

4

10

8.

Boston Breakers

8

2

6

0

6

9.

Houston Dash

9

1

7

1

4

About Courtney Lambert

A competitive athlete in her college days, Courtney writes on events happening at state and local level. She has previous experience covering news and writing for the Jacksonville Times Union and graduated from the University of North Florida with a degree in journalism.